As the curtains fell on the final practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, McLaren has once again gone 1-2, but this time with Lando Norris as the fastest among the 2 drivers. While McLaren dominated another practice session, there was something peculiar happening with the Soft tyre compound. But first, let’s summarise the results.
McLaren remains dominant in Imola after FP3
After FP3, it is clear that the McLarens are the favourites to take pole position and win the race on Sunday. However, we can never count out Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. After a poor showing during Friday’s practice sessions, Verstappen went 3rd fastest with a medium tyre compound during the final practice session. The Dutch driver is known for drawing up an incredible lap out of nowhere to take pole position on Saturday.
Mercedes is not too far behind with the home hero, KimiAntonelli, finishing 4th. So we can assume that the Silver Arrows will also be threatening to get into the top 3 for a potential podium finish on Sunday.
FP3 CLASSIFICATION
McLaren complete a hat-trick of 1-2s in practice at Imola 👏#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/0yWwYbD1Ld
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 17, 2025
Despite bringing a few upgrades for the weekend, Ferrari still seems to be struggling to find pace in their car. Leclerc finished 5th, over half a tenth of a second behind Lando Norris. Hamilton seemed to be struggling even more as he finished only with the 10th fastest time on the board.
Behind Leclerc was Carlos Sainz, leading the Williams hype train in Imola. His teammate, Alex Albon is also not far behind in 9th. If they are able to translate the pace they have show in the practice sessions into qualifying and the race, a double points finish should be the target for the team.
While the top 10 across as the free practice sessions were more or less how the season has been going, there was something peculiar in FP3 with the soft tyre compound.
Soft Tyre Compound creates trouble for F1 teams in Imola
Before every race weekend, Pirelli chooses 3 tyre compounds among 7 available options. The tyre that provides the maximum grip and maximum wear is the soft tyre, the Hard tyres is the one that provides the least amount of grip but the least amount of wear, while the medium tyre is a balance between grip and wear.
Ahead of this weekend, Pirelli decided to debut the C6 tyre compound for the first time in F1 history. This compound is the softest among the 7 options available. While Pirelli were expecting this tyre to give increased grip, the drivers struggled with them during FP3.
Pirelli has chosen the softest trio of compounds in its 2025 range for this weekend: C4, C5 and C6. It will be the first time that drivers will run the C6 on this season’s cars as none of them used it in the Bahrain test. Read more here 👉https://t.co/6WLJ4glS4J #F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/ds0aThNF50
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) May 12, 2025
Since the C6 compound is the softest tyre, it is very difficult to maintain tyre temperatures. Drivers were unable to stop the tyres from overheating during FP3. However, this was not the case on Friday during FP1 and FP2.
This was because the track temperature during FP3 on Saturday was much higher than it was on Friday. So this means that tyres get overheated faster, making it difficult to find the optimal amount of grip from the tyres. Just for context, the peak track temperature during FP2 was 37°C. During FP3, the peak track temperature was over 46°C.
So what can the FIA and Pirelli do to fix this issue? For this weekend, nothing. With all the practice session completed, its simply not possible for Pirelli to change the tyre compounds. So the teams will most likely use all the soft tyres during qualifying as they cannot be used during the race due to its overheating issue.
Heading into qualifying, we can expect a very unpredictable session as the drivers work hard to bring the tyres into optimal temperatures. Who do you think will take pole position later today? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
